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A Cook County judge on Thursday gave the owner of Lincoln Mall in south suburban Matteson one week to come up with a plan for making needed repairs to the 40-year-old structure. Judge Thomas Condon heard from attorneys representing the village who want the shopping mall closed immediately, and attorneys recently hired by Michael Kohan, a New York-based developer who purchased the mall last year for $150,000 – with promises he would renovate the structure significantly. Village officials who filed a lawsuit earlier this week to force the closing of the mall, said Kohan has shown them nothing but sketches and vague plans for a renovation. Anthony Licata, a Chicago-based attorney hired by Matteson government to handle the lawsuit, said that Condon scheduled another court hearing for Aug. 15 in his courtroom in the Cook County Sixth District Courthouse… Please click here to read Gregory Tejeda’s full story in the Times. For previous stories, please click here to read Casey Toner’s story in the Southtown Star, here for Phil Kadner’s article in the Southtown Star, or related reeports on CBS Chicago,  WGN News or NWI Times. For updates, click here.

Rich East Principal Mark Kramer calls for business and community involvement in the school’s new manufacturing training program at the July CSEDC quarterly forum. Rich East High School is now offering National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) certification to students this fall and will offer it to parents and community as well after hours. At the July 26th CSEDC quarterly forum, Rich East Principal Mark Kramer said they are also asking for involvement. They need contacts with business owners, plant managers and organizations that can put students inside plants for tours and internships. District 227 administrators are very interested in establishing new innovations for parents, the community and, of course, their students. They will be establishing at least two new class periods for NIMS training and will explore transportation and dual credit with Prairie State for advanced training. For more information please contact Mark D. Kramer,  Principal of  Rich East High School at 300 Sauk Trail,  Park Forest, IL 60466, email:  mkramer@rich227.org or  phone: 708-679-7332. To see slides of Mr. Kramer’s presentation, click CSEDC presentation. For a related story, please see Edward Paesel’s editorial here.

Why developers are bringing gigabit speeds to residential buildings Matt Womack loved the Lake Michigan views, granite counters and stainless-steel appliances at the Shoreland, a sprawling, roaring ’20s-era hotel in Hyde Park that’s been converted to high-end apartments. But what stopped him in his tracks was the Internet connection. “I was on a tour, and I asked: ‘Did you say 1-gigabit?’ “ the 36-year-old programmer says. “One thousand megabits per second is pretty crazy.” It’s the kind of bandwidth that many businesses only now are getting, 10 times faster than the best residential speeds offered by cable providers, and 50 to 100 times faster than what most consumers have. The 330-unit Shoreland, being readied for a September opening by Antheus Capital LLC, based in Englewood, N.J., is believed to be the first residential deployment of “1-gig” broadband in Chicago. Others will follow soon…Please click here to read  John Pletz’s full story in Crain’s Chicago Business.

By Rita Kueny SPC Awards Heavy Duty Fire Apparatus Contract The Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (SPC) Governing Board is pleased to announce the award of a one-year agreement for heavy-duty fire apparatus to Global Emergency Products, Inc. of Aurora for the Pierce Manufacturing Arrow XT. Every municipality and governmental agency in the State of Illinois is authorized to participate in this program. The contract runs from July 9, 2013 through July 8, 2014. The SPC reserves the right to extend this contract for up to four (4) additional one-year terms upon mutual agreement of both the vendor and the SPC on a negotiated basis. Proposals were submitted by Alexis Fire Equipment and Global Emergency Products for Pierce Manufacturing. Two other proposals were received, but were rejected for being non-compliant with the request for proposals (RFP). The SPC Fire Core Cost Containment Committee (FCCCC) evaluated the proposals and scored them as specified in the RFP. Global Emergency Products submitted the lowest cost responsible/responsive bid, earned the highest points with fewest deductions on the proposal evaluation checklist and was found to be in compliance with all bid specification requirements. Global Emergency Products for Pierce Manufacturing submitted a bid price as specified of $519,000.00 and the Alexis Fire Equipment proposal as specified was priced at $549,688.00. This contract is awarded for the Pierce Manufacturing Arrow XT heavy duty fire apparatus to be built as specified in the RFP. No alterations, deviations or structural changes, etc. to the chassis or configurations other than options named or allowed specifically in the RFP are permitted. The award is for Heavy Duty Fire Apparatus and forbids structural changes to alter or transform the contracted vehicle to an aerial/platform/ladder, or any device other than the vehicle that was submitted as specified in response to the SPC RFP for Heavy Duty Fire Apparatus in the Global Emergency Products proposal dated May 10, 2013. To place an order or obtain additional information, please contact Mike Mikoola, 630-978-5151 (office), 630-774-0526 (cell phone) or mmikoola@temco1.com. GM Announces 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe Factory Order Cut Off Date General Motors has announced that, due to the introduction of a new product later this year, the cut-off date for ordering the Chevrolet Tahoe through the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (SPC) is August 22. The 2014 Standard Package price is $23,986 with a 3-Year Bumper-to-Bumper and 5-Year Power Train Warranty. To download the order form, please visit http://www.nwmc-cog.org/Suburban-Purchasing- Cooperative/Police-Pursuit-Vehicles.aspx and please note that program vendor Currie Motors has units in stock. For questions or additional information, please contact Tom Sullivan, 815-464-9200 or thomasfsullivan@msn.com. Important Notice on Ford Police Interceptor Vehicle Spare Tire The Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (SPC) has been notified by Ford Motor Company that it is critical to leave the spare tire on the Police Interceptor properly secured in the original factory location. The vehicles were designed and crash tested to meet Ford’s industry-exclusive 75-mph rear crash criteria with all standard equipment including the full size spare tire. The spare tire performs an important structural role in high-speed rear end impacts and must remain in the original location as installed by the factory to meet this standard. If your agency has removed or otherwise altered the location of the spare, please return the tire to its factory location. Please contact the Ford Fleet Customer Information Center, 800-343-5338, or Government Sales Manager Tony Gratson, 313-390-1041, or tgratson@ford.com with any questions. Office Supplies Agreement Extended Through August 30, 2014 Earlier this year, the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (SPC) Governing Board awarded the SPC Office Supplies Program to Warehouse Direct Office Products through Independent Stationers. This contract utilizes the U.S. Communities National Contract MICPA and ISG County of Los Angeles Master Agreement. Staff has been notified that Los Angeles County Office Supplies Contract MA-IS-1140050 with Independent Stationers Group has been awarded the first optional one-year extension through August 30, 2014. All other pricing, terms and conditions remain the same. The office supply program has fixed prices on 1,300 quality core products and over 28,000 non-core products. In addition, SPC members are eligible to receive up to a 1% e-commerce rebate paid in the form of a credit towards future purchases. For questions or additional information, please contact Warehouse Direct Account Executives Spencer Touchie, 847-631-7188 or stouchie@warehousedirect.com, or Rick Schackle, 847-631-7428 or rickschackle@warehousedirect.com. Acting as an extension of your purchasing staff, SPC staff works diligently in order to avoid the needless duplication of effort through in-house coordination of several functions involved in the procurement process, including the bidding process. Please consider the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative when making purchases and note that every municipality and government agency in the State of Illinois is authorized to participate in SPC Programs. Feel free to contact your SSMMA SPC staff representative Rita Kueny at (708) 206-1155 or rita.kueny@ssmma.org with any questions or comments you may have regarding existing SPC programs or additional programs you would be interested in having added.

From the Neighborhood and Housing Services website: On Friday, July 19th Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS) participated in a press conference in Auburn Gresham with Governor Pat Quinn and the U.S. Department of the Treasury officials to highlight a success story of the Illinois Hardest Hit Program and to urge homeowners to apply for up to $35,000 in mortgage payment assistance by September 30th when the program ends. Governor Quinn launched the Illinois Hardest Hit Program in September 2011 to assist homeowners who have experienced an income reduction due to unemployment or substantial underemployment. The program makes mortgage payments on behalf of the borrower for up to 18 months, or $35,000 per household. The assistance allows eligible households to maintain their home while they work to regain employment and financial stability. The press conference took place at NHS client Harriett Edmonds’ home in Auburn Gresham. Harriett lost her job in 2011 and was unable to make mortgage payments due to providing care for her ill mother. With NHS’ help and assistance from the Illinois Hardest Hit Program, Harriett was approved for assistance in June 2012. The program allowed her to stay in her home while she looked for a full-time job. Harriett will start a new job on Monday as a grant manager for a Chicago-based foundation. “Thanks to the Illinois Hardest Hit program, I was able to keep my home while I continued my job search, Edmonds said. “I’m happy to start a new job on Monday with my home intact.” To date, 9,000 homeowners have been helped by the Illinois Hardest Hit program. Each qualifying homeowner received mortgage assistance averaging $33,000. The program is estimated to help another 1,200 homeowners before it concludes in September. For more information on the Illinois Hardest Hit Fund, please contact NHS at (773) 329-4010.

Many of those cash buyers were investors, either the big corporate type or the smaller individual type. But real estate agents and others say the number of end-users buying homes for their own use and paying cash has risen steeply this year. (I could not find data that breaks down which cash buyers are end users and which are investors.)…Please click here to read Dennis Rodkin’s story in Chicago Magazine.

The grant is to create promotional mailers, advertisements and a video to help promote the Community Fiber Network Conference, on Nov. 5-7, at the Tinley Park Convention Center. The broadband conference (bbcmag.com/chicago) is expected to draw hundreds of visitors from throughout the Midwest to the Southland at Tinley Park and the Chicago Southland region. “The grant can help us spread the word throughout Illinois and neighboring states about how investment in broadband infrastructure can be leveraged to become a powerful economic development tool,” SSMMA Executive Director Edward Paesel said…Please click here to read the full story, or to download the flyer, click SSMMA – BBC Chicago Conference – Promotional Piece.

Amendment could benefit Tinley Park property owners with vacant properties A recent tax break approved by the Cook County Board could help Tinley Park property owners fill vacant buildings, village officials announced. The county board on July 17 approved an amendment to the Class 8 and Class 6B Property Tax Classification Ordinance that will allow “significant tax breaks” for business development in Bremen, Rich, Calumet, Bloom and Thornton townships, according to Tinley Park officials. Both Bremen and Rich are in Tinley Park, said Trustee Dave Seaman, chairman of the village’s Finance and Economic Development Committee. The new amendment is a “minor change” to existing law, according to Trustee Brian Maher, but it’s expected to make a difference for local business owners with vacant properties. Under the previous law, property owners who have vacant properties for two years could be given a 60 percent property tax reduction. With the change, the village will be allowed to recommend that certain properties that have been vacant for more than 12 months receive cuts on their property tax rates, Maher said…Please click here to read Gregory Pratt’s full article in the Tribune.

A provision in a Senate bill signed this past week by Gov. Pat Quinn authorizes the Illinois Finance Authority to issue low- or no-interest loans of up to $5 million to communities, according to state Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Orland Hills). An amendment creating the revolving loan program was tacked on to a bill introduced by Hastings concerning capital improvements and real estate leases at state universities… Please click here to read Mike Nolan’s full story in the Herald-News.

Known as red-light cameras, the devices are installed and operated by private firms that have contracts with local governments. Under the agreements, the red-light camera companies make their money from monthly service fees and per-ticket fees, and the municipalities can reap the leftover proceeds depending on the number of red-light tickets issued. However, an analysis of bills and receipts obtained by the SouthtownStar shows it’s not always the case that money makes its way into towns’ coffers. While some local municipalities with heavy traffic have made millions of dollars, some — such as Palos Heights and Evergreen Park — haven’t seen any money at all…Please click here to read the full story by Casey Toner in the Southtown Star, or here to read a related story in the Examiner.

Last month, a resident complained that a boarded-up gas station on Glenwood-Dyer Road is an eyesore, and Village President Kerry Durkin asked Fire Chief Kevin Welsh, who also serves as Building Department director, to meet with Village Attorney John Donahue to amend the village code. The ordinance is expected to allow a structure to be boarded-up for no more than 60 days, and the fine for noncompliance could be up to $750 per day after adjudication. “Board-ups can only be tolerated in the cases where there’s been vandalism or damage from natural disasters, things of that sort,” Welsh said… Please click here to read the full article in the Times by Paul Czapkowicz.

About 20 offenders with the Cook County Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program cleaned up a dozen abandoned homes in Dolton this week, the sheriff’s office has announced. On Thursday, the offenders picked up garbage, whacked weeds and mowed grass, improving the lawns in front of homes on East 140th Place, East 141st Place and East 142nd Place. The project took the crew about four hours to complete. The sheriff offered the SWAP services to Dolton to help in the upkeep of the village’s neighborhoods and village officials accepted, according to a news release. Past SWAP projects included cleanup crews in Robbins and providing labor for a community garden project in Rosemoor…Please click here to read the full story in the Times.